Sacrifices
by Nivalannexis
Summary: Saw meets young justice. The team is captured and forced to take part in a deadly game. Will start with original team but who knows. Warning for multiple character deaths.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
It was dark. It was the first thing he noticed when he woke up. The second was that he was lying on a cold had floor. He strained his ears and heard movement beside him. "Hallo, is anybody there?" A voice asked. A very familiar voice.

"Rocket, is that you?" He asked.

"Yeah, Nightwing?" Raquel asked as she hopelessly tried to look for him.

"It's me. Do you know where we are?"

"No, I just woke up a few seconds ago." Raquel replied.

"Could you guys keep it down? My head is killing me." A new voice spoke up.

"Artemis?" Raquel asked as she crawled towards her voice.

"Raquel where are we?" Artemis asked.

"We don't know."

"I think we've established that fact already." A gruff voice added.

"Conner, how long you have been awake?" Nightwing Asked.

"Long enough."

"Then why didn't you say anything?" Raquel asked vexed at the current events.

Conner was silent for a moment before he spoke, "Didn't have anything to say."

"Really? You wake up in a strange place, you hear your team mates talking and you don't have anything to say?" Raquel retorted.

Conner remained silent and was saved from an earful when a loud moan echoed around the room followed closely by another softer groan. "Conner, is that you?" A soft voice asked.

"Yes M'gann, I'm here."

"Dude where are we?" Wally asked as he woke up.

"You see why I didn't say anything. That question is infuriating." Conner growled from his spot on the floor.

Richard chuckled and was about to answer Wally when another voice spoke up. "Dick is that you?"

"Zee, you okay?" Richard asked his voice soft with concern.

"I'm fine. Just a bit dizzy."

"I am also fine." A calm voice added.

"Kaldur? That means the whole team is here." Artemis observed.

"At least the original eight members." Nightwing added.

"So anyone know where we are, or where the light switch is I can't see a thing." Wally asked.

As if to answer him, the room was suddenly illuminated as the lights came on. The team closed their eyes as they tried to shield them from the strong light after staying in the dark for so long. They opened their eyes and took in their surroundings. It was a large square room, the walls painted a dull green. Dirt and grime stuck to the walls and floor on which the eight superheroes looked at one another with confusion. There was a single rusty metallic door that seemed to be the only means of escape. On a corner high above them there was a single Tv screen and on another there was a mounted camera.

"Okay guys, what the hell is going on?" Raquel asked looking at her teammates all dressed in their costumes.

"Don't know and right know I really don't care, Conner, why don't you bust us out of here." Wally returned as he walked up to the door.

Conner crossed his arms over his chest and didn't move, "I can't."

Richard raised an eyebrow at the clone, "What do you mean you can't?"

Conner took a deep breath before he spoke, "I've been trying to access my super hearing ever since I woke up and my infrared vision isn't working either. It seems whoever locked us in here didn't want us getting out."

Wally furrowed his brows and took off in a run across the room, at normal human speed. "My powers are gone." He said in disbelief as he came to a stop.

"Mine as well." M'gann said.

"My utility belt is gone and the door has no lock so we can't 'pick' our way out." Nightwing said. "Zatanna?"

"Nothing, I'm powerless as well." The magician replied.

"My inertia belt is also gone." Raquel added.

Richard looked at them all before he gave an assessment of the situation. "Seems none of us have any powers and our weapons have been taken away."

"By who?" Artemis asked.

"Guess we are about to find out." Conner said as the screen crackled to life and a figured covered in a white frowning opera mask appeared.

"Hey, I've seen this movie." Wally spoke up pointing to the screen.

"How does it end?" Zatanna asked.

"Let's just hope that we aren't in the same situation." He replied in a worried voice.

"The figure looked at them before he spoke. "Hello boys and girls, I'd like us to play a game."

**A/N**  
I was watching Saw,again, and this popped into my head. Anyway I just wanted to see how people will react to this story before continuing it but be assured I will post more chapters soon. I will not lie, I will probably kill almost every member of the team so be warned in advance.


	2. Chapter 2

**Rules of the game**

"Who the hell are you and what do you want from us?" Artemis asked.

"You may call me Nero." The masked figure said.

"So, what do you want from us?" Wally asked.

"Like I said I would like to play a game."

"What kind of game?" Zatanna inquired.

The masked figure sighed before he spoke, "If you would let me finish, I will explain everything." He waited to see if he would be interrupted before he continued. "I have brought you here for my own purposes and as such only I will know the reason why. The rules of the game are simple. You need to get from this room to the exit in two hours and those of you still alive can go free."

"And what if we don't play your game?" Raquel asked.

"You didn't let me finish. Now, there are eight explosive devices, each with an explosive yield of 5 megatons, placed in eight cities in the world. Two of these bombs will go off every thirty minutes unless you press the abort switches located on your route. The last switch however is the most important, if you don't reach it in time, all eight devices will explode."

The team looked at each other each wondering the same thing, was he telling the truth? "How can we be sure that you are telling us the truth?"

The screen flickered and news reports started to show on the screen. The reports shifted from city to city each showing the same device, a large black pyramid like device with a red shield around it. Shanghai, Istanbul, Karachi, Mumbai, Moscow, Star, Central, Metropolis and Tokyo. All major cities, all heavily populated. "You said there were eight devices, but there are only nine cities." Conner observed. No sooner had he spoke than the video showed the device in Tokyo glow green and explode. The team watched in shock and horror as the city was enveloped in a large mushroom cloud.

"Are you convinced?" Nero's voice floated from the speakers, the screen still showing a bird's-eye-view of the destruction.

"Yes." Dick said. "Now let us out so that we can get this over with."

The masked figure reappeared on the screen and a countdown appeared at the bottom of the screen," Not so fast. The route you will take is filled with obstacles that will require you to make certain sacrifices. Not all of you will survive. You can choose to stay put for the two hours and afterwards you will go free or you can save countless lives by sacrificing your own. The choice is yours." The timer stated and the seconds started to trickle away.

Dick looked at each member of the team, each silently confirming that they should move forward even if it meant their deaths. "We are heroes. Open the door."

"Excellent. Then let the games begin."

A/N  
Short I know but the next chapter will be longer. Till then, read, enjoy, review.


	3. Chapter 3

THE EASIEST CHOICE OF ALL

The door slowly swung open and the team walked through it and into a dimly lit corridor. "So are we really doing this?" Wally asked turning to the little group.

"You heard that nutjob, he's got WMDs on eight major cities." Artemis returned.

"We have risked our lives before to save the innocent. This time will be no different." Kaldur said.

Richard took the lead and turned to the rest, "We move forward and look out for each other. Remember the league is also out there. With any luck we'll get out of here in one piece and no one else will die today." He turned around and started to walk forward when he stopped in his tracks.

"When has luck ever been on our side?" Conner asked quietly. Dick looked at them once again before he continued walking. The rest of the team followed him in quietly each lost in their thoughts of who would be left alive after their ordeal.

They walked quietly for a few minutes before they came across a large metallic door. A countdown timer was positioned at the top showing them that they had used eight of their precious minutes on their walk. Unlike the previous door, this one contained a handle. Dick grabbed the handle and hesitated. He turned to face the rest silently asking them if they were ready. They all nodded and he took a deep breath and let it out loudly. "Alright, here we go." He turned the handle and the door swung open slowly.

They stepped into a dark room and bright lights suddenly flared up causing them to blink rapidly as their eyes adjusted to the light. It was a fairly large room, like the previous one painted a dull green with dirt and grime sticking to every surface. On the opposite side of the entrance, there was a transparent door and above it, there was a countdown timer indicating that they had already used up seven minutes. They needed to hurry if they were going to succeed. There was a camera mounted on each corner of the room and a T.V screen mounted on the wall on their right. The door closed and the screen crackled to life displaying the masked face of their tormentor. "Hello, Young Justice. Over the past few years you have dedicated your lives to saving the lives of others. But being in each other's company and fighting side by side has made you to be more than a team, it has made you a family. The important question is what are you willing to do for your family? And, what are you willing to do for those who depend on your protection? Are you ready to begin?"

The team nodded silently and a trap door opened on the floor behind them. A treadmill rose up from the depths and came to a stop when it was level with the floor. It was six feet long and seemed to have been modified to withstand high speeds. "A treadmill, is that the best you could come up with?" Wally asked.

"This is no ordinary treadmill. There are four transparent doors between here and the next room. The doors are opened when the treadmill has acquired sufficient speed. If you go below that speed, all doors automatically close and you will be stuck here forever. Kid Flash, this challenge is yours." A compartment on the wall opened revealing two vials, one with a blue liquid and one with a green liquid."**Drinking the contents of the blue vial will grant you powers even greater than your uncle's."**

Wally grabbed his head as he felt the words reverberate in his mind. **"You're speaking to me psychically?"**

**"Yes?"**

**"Why?"** He asked grunting in pain.

"Wally, are you alright?"Artemis asked rushing to his side.

**"Like I said before, this challenge is yours and therefore you have to make a very important decision, one that cannot be influenced by your friends."**

Wally took a deep breath as he got used to the overwhelming voice and gave Artemis a weak smile. "I'm okay Artemis must be the side effects of whatever he used to knock us out with."

**"Good. Now as I was saying, the blue vial will grant you powers greater than those of the flash meaning that you will literally be the fastest man alive. Once you drink it, I will upload an alternate route to your mind and in literally seconds, you will be able to disarm all the explosive devices. You will go free and you will save a lot of lives in the process, however, all you friends will die as soon as the vial touches your lips. If you take the green vial, it will return your powers for one minute. You will then use the treadmill, going at your top speed, to unlock the doors."** Nero said giving him a blank stare.

"Hey, why isn't he giving us the instructions?" Zatanna asked pointing at the screen.

"That's because he's already given them to Wally." Richard said a frown on his face.

The masked figure turned to Richard, "How perceptive of you. I am having a psychic conversation with Kid Flash and before you ask, neither he nor I will tell you what the conversation is about. It would also be wise if you didn't interrupt, after all, the more you interrupt me the less time you have."

Wally exchanged glances with his teammates before he returned his gaze to the screen. **"What's the catch?" **

**"The 'catch' as you would call it, is that the first door requires forty five seconds to open while the other three require fifteen seconds each to open. Meaning-"**

**"That in order for the team to escape I will need to run for one whole minute."** Wally finished.

**"Your powers will disappear and the momentum of the conveyor belt will throw you into the spikes that will be found at the bottom of the pit through which you will fall killing you instantly. Your decision is this Wallace, take the blue vial and know how it feels to be as fast as the Flash saving everybody in the process and sacrificing your friends or take the green vial and give your friends the chance to fight for their lives."**

Wally closed his eyes and all the memories of the time spent with the team came flooding into his mind. Nero must have already known the choice he would make. This was not like the other missions, they would all die but if there was a chance that even one of them could make it out shouldn't he give them that chance? **"Are you going to kill them all?"**

**"No, my intentions are not to kill your family, they are to answer a very difficult question."**

**"And what would that question be?"** Wally asked, his eyes still closed.

**"That Wallace, is for me to know. The choice is yours."**

The screen went black and the team turned to Wally trying to pry some information from him. "Look guys, we don't have much time. So don't interrupt until I finish. He wants me to run on the treadmill and the doors will open. The other choice I won't tell you so don't even bother asking."

He gave them a look that told them he had made up his mind and they backed off. He then went to the compartment and he took the green vial and walked over to the treadmill.

"Wally, what aren't you telling us?" M'gann asked.

"Nothing Megs, I just had to choose between saving the world or giving us a chance of getting out of here in one piece. That's all."

"Are you sure?" Artemis asked.

"Yes. Just trust me." He pleaded and his eyes found Richard's. The younger boy gave him a nod and Wally climbed on the treadmill. "You guys need to hurry, once I start running I can't stop but once you are on the other side I will follow you."

Artemis gave him a hug whispering into his ear, "Promise me you will follow us when we go through."

"I promise." He said as he returned the hug.

The team huddled around the door and he gave them a thumbs-up before he opened the vial and with a final look at his family he took a long swig and in the next second, he started running reaching his top speed in a few milliseconds.

The team watched as Wally turned into a blur and waited as the seconds ticked past. At forty five seconds, the glass door started to rise up and the team squeezed through it wasting as little time as possible. They were through the second door when unbeknownst to them, a trapdoor behind the treadmill slid open revealing foot long spikes at the bottom of a six foot pit.

Kaldur had just cleared the final door when all the doors slammed closed and Wally came to an abrupt halt as his powers disappeared and the momentum of the treadmill threw him into the pit. "WALLY!" Artemis shouted as she pounded on the glass trying to see where he had gone.

"I'm sorry but he's gone." Richard said as he put a hand on her shoulder.

At the bottom of the pit, Wally looked at the spikes that had penetrated his body. He could already feel the life drain out of him and his mind wandered to New Year's Day when they had defeated the League. He remembered how happy they were then and he was glad that he had given them a chance. A small smile lit his face, and he was happy because to him he had been given the easiest choice of all. His memories were the last thing he saw as his eyes closed and he took his final breath.

* * *

In another room, a man knelt in front of a large screen surrounded by his peers. His friends bowed their heads not knowing how to console him and they looked on as the Flash mourned the death of his beloved nephew.

A/N  
I know you guys really hate me right know, but it had to be done. Also forgot to tell you guys before, the mask of Nero is the frowning mask of the muse of tragedy in drama, Melpomene I think her name is. Read, enjoy, review.


	4. Chapter 4

UNSAFE HEAVEN  
"You need to calm down."

"Fighting between ourselves solves nothing."

"I DON'T CARE!"

"Flash, please." Diana pleaded as she helped Bruce to his feet.

Barry shook his head tears streaming down his face, "We could have stopped it. Because of him Wally is dead."

Bruce rubbed his jaw where the Flash had hit him and wiped a trickle of blood from his lip. "I am sorry about Wally but we know the stakes. We have to let it happen."

"So what happens next? We sit around and watch as the entire team sacrifices themselves?" Barry asked as Ollie tried to hold him back from attacking the Dark Knight. "They're just kids."

"Yes. And no, they are heroes and they made their decision to go through with this and if we end this right now Wally would have died for nothing. Also think about all those people, do they deserve to die so that we can save the team? Think of the bigger picture. We have no other choice."

Barry fell to his knees as his anger dissipated and the grief of losing someone he considered a son came crashing down on him. "You may think that now Bruce but when the entire team lies dead you'll all wish we pushed that button."

* * *

Artemis felt numb. She had heard Richard but she refused to believe it. He couldn't be gone. She refused to believe it. "Artemis we have to go." Richard said gripping her shoulders tightly.

Artemis stared at the rest of her team. M'gann was holding on to Conner crying into his shoulder. Conner was glaring at the wall one of his arms around the Martian and the other hand clenched into a fist. Kaldur was patting Raquel's back as she Hugged Zatanna. The Atlantean was holding back his tears but it was a losing battle. Only Richard didn't seem to be a wreck. "What are you talking about? We have to get Wally out of there."

"No Artemis, he's gone." Richard said shaking his head. "I know it's difficult but we have a mission to complete. We have to go."

Artemis jerked away from him her mouth slightly open in disbelief. "How can you say that? He was your friend and you're pretending as if nothing happened."

"This is our job. We knew the risks when we decided to be heroes. Wally wanted us to continue with the mission. That is why he didn't tell us what was going to happen."

"Dick how can you be so cold?" Zatanna asked wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Because to him the mission comes first." Artemis said angrily. "Look at him, he doesn't even care that Wally's dead."

At that statement Richard turned around and punched one of the walls. "You think I don't care? Wally was my brother and I just watched him sacrifice his life. We can stay here and mourn for him but if we do that then a lot of people will die and Wally would have died for nothing. When we started we knew that not all of us would make it. Wally was the first of us to die and he won't be the last. We continue the mission and after we are finished we go after the person responsible for this and we make him pay."

"You are not our leader anymore Dick, stop acting like you are." Artemis looked at him for a few seconds before she pushed past him and walked down another long corridor. M'gann, Raquel and Zatanna followed after her leaving Conner and Kaldur behind with him a stunned expression on his face.. "You could have handled that better." Kaldur said.

"We don't have time. We've already used up eighteen minutes and we have no idea how far the next button is." Richard said indicating the countdown timer above them.

"She just lost the love of her life, the least you could do is give her a minute." Conner replied.

"Maybe after all this she won't need it." Nightwing replied following after the girls.

Conner and Kaldur exchanged confused glances before they followed the rest of the team. They walked in silence, for another minute before they reached another metallic door. "Artemis." Artemis stopped before she opened the door and turned to Richard. "I'm sorry." He said his eyes locked with hers hoping that she understood he was hurting as well.

Artemis nodded and turned the handle opening the door carefully. They stepped through it and found themselves on a small platform. They were in a large circular room, 100 meters in diameter. On the opposite side of the small platform was another metallic door. Six feet below them was water. The entire room seemed to be filled with water, with no way to reach the other side. There was a red line four feet above the waterline. Like the other rooms, there was a TV screen and at the bottom of the screen there was a countdown clock. There were also cameras placed all over the walls giving a 360 degree view of the entire room. "So, what do we do now? Swim across?"

The screen crackled to life and the masked face of their tormentor appeared. "Very amusing Artemis and to answer your question, yes there will be swimming involved. But, only one of you will be… taking the plunge so to speak."

"What do you want from us?" Raquel asked. She knew that anything to do with water would involve only one of them.

"It is very simple Miss Ervin. There is a question that I need answered. A very, very important question but just as I want to be educated, I also want to educate you. To that end, some of you need to die."

"You brought us here and put us in situations that would lead to our deaths just to answer a question?" Artemis asked her eyes narrowed in anger.

"Yes, that is exactly what I am trying to say."

"You are crazy and because of you Wally is dead." Artemis' voice became low as she struggled to control her anger. "When I get out of here I'm coming for you."

Nero let out a chuckle of amusement, "I will be waiting. Now, back to the matter at hand. This room is 20 feet deep and at the very bottom there is an opening to a passageway that is 100 meters long. At the end of the passageway, there is a switch that will enable you to cross from one side of the room to the other. Kaldur'ahm this challenge is yours."

Kaldur looked uneasy, "this seems too easy. There must be more to the challenge."

"Indeed there is, though your physical anatomy remains intact enabling you to breathe underwater, you might as well be an ordinary human. This is no ordinary water and you will not be able to extract oxygen from it. Also, the switch that will release the walkway across the two platforms is a dead man's switch and must be held down until all the members of the team are across it will also open the door. And so that you won't forget the purpose of your current mission or if you give up, once the water level reaches the red line, the switches will be deactivated and you will be stuck here and all of you will die. This will result in every single bomb exploding and will cause the deaths of millions of people."

"There is no way that I will survive is there?" Kaldur asked calmly.

"Unfortunately, you won't and neither will most of your friends."

"Then why don't you just kill us all?" Conner asked.

"Like I said, I want to educate you. Killing you all at once will solve nothing but I assure you, there will be survivors and that is what you fight for. If you stay here, all of you die but if you move forward, there is a chance that some of you will make it out alive."

"How can we be sure that you intend to let us go?" Zatanna asked her voice shaking. She didn't want to lose another member of the team.

Nero was silent for a minute before his eyes darted to Richard and for a moment they shared a look that Conner noticed. "You don't, but if you stay you will definitely die. The choice is yours." The picture of Nero was then replaced with a video of an aerial view of what was formally Tokyo. There was a large smoking crater and at the bottom of the screen, they could see the death toll estimates at more than eight million. As soon as he disappeared from the screen, slots opened all around the room and water started to pour through.

"It seems we have no other choice." Kaldur said walking to the edge of the platform.

"Kal, you can't just dive in. You heard what he said, its suicide." Raquel spoke as she took his hand.

"What would you have me do? Stand idly by and watch as my friends, my family and countless others die? This is the only way." He wiped a tear from her cheek with is thumb and turned to the rest of the team, "I am truly sorry for what we did to you but it was for your protection."

"Kaldur, none of that matters right now." M'gann said as she walked forwards and hugged him. "I'm really sorry about what I did." She whispered as she stepped back Kaldur gave her a small smile and she walked over to the wall hugging herself.

Artemis silently stepped towards the Atlantean and wrapped her arms around him. "Goodbye Kal." She stepped back and allowed Zatanna to do the same.

Richard stepped forward and shook his hand before he stepped back. Artemis watched her eyes narrowed as the former boy wonder walked to the edge of the screen and examined the TV screen. Was he really that eager to complete the mission that showing any emotions or concern for his friends' lives was out of the question? Did he really not care?

Conner stepped forward awkwardly and hugged the Atlantean. He stepped back and rubbed the back of his neck, "Listen, about what I said, could we forget that it ever happened?"

Kaldur gave him a smile and placed his hand on the clone's shoulder. "Don't worry my friend that is as they say 'water under the bridge'. Take care of the rest for me." He then leaned in and whispered in his ear, making sure that nobody else could hear him, "Keep an eye on Richard. I believe there is more to this than just a game and I think he might know what." He stepped back and looked into the clone's eyes making sure that he understood. Conner gave a small nod and went to stand next to M'gann.

Kaldur turned his attention to Raquel but she was facing away from him, her back turned as she tried to hold back the tears that fell past her cheeks. He walked forward and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Raquel, it is going to be alright."

Raquel turned around and shook her head, "No it's not Kal. We both know that none of us are making it out of here."

"Maybe, but at least we have to try. You have to try." His hands found her cheeks and he gave her a kiss on her forehead. They might have broken up, but they were still very close. He knew that what he was about to do would hurt her and he hoped that she would still have the strength to complete their mission.

"Kal, time is running out." Richard said, interrupting the two and receiving shocked looks and angry glares from the rest of the team. He ignored them, they didn't understand. He had to be cold or else the mission wouldn't be completed and they could not fail. That was one thing he refused to do even if it meant sacrificing all of their lives. He would push that button, no matter what happened, he would not fail.

Kaldur hugged Raquel one final time before he stepped back and walked to the edge of the small platform. He glanced back, his eyes landing on Richard dressed in his Nightwing costume (minus the mask). It was only recently, after their victory over the Light, that his identity had been revealed. He remembered how the rest of the team had reacted after they learnt of Nightwing's plan. Now after the death of Wally and knowing what lay in store for them he regretted that things had gotten so bad between them. His eyes locked with the blue orbs of their former leader. He could sense that the younger man was troubled but he was trying to appear indifferent to what was happening.

Kaldur turned back to the task at hand and registered that the water was rising quickly, already halfway towards the red line. He took a deep breath and jumped into the cold water.

"This is wrong." Raquel said her eyes on the spot where Kaldur disappeared.

"It's the only way." Richard said his arms crossed over his chest.

Artemis walked over to Raquel and wrapped her hands around the young woman. "You know Dick, I'm starting to get really sick of your attitude."

"You're not the only one." Zatanna said glaring at her ex.

Richard turned away from them and continued to examine the TV screen closely. His eyes widened as a headline flashed at the bottom of the screen for a few seconds before disappearing, however the message had already been passed; one more dead. Time was running out for all of them. "You'll all understand soon enough."

"What are you talking about?" M'gann asked.

"Later." Richard said.

Kaldur had reached the bottom of the room and located the entrance to the passageway. He pushed on as he tried not to think of the pain burning in his chest. He reached the end of the water-filled passageway and found a control panel. There was a screen connected to the cameras all around the room, streaming a live feed of the platform and its occupants. There was a large red button next to the screen. Kaldur pressed the button and watched as a narrow walkway emerged from an opening on the other side of the room. He also noticed that the water flowing into the room seemed to increase. He held onto the panel, fighting the panic rising inside of him. The water was his home, a safe heaven and it would be the cause of his death. It was then that he realised that that was what his tormentor wanted; for him to feel the fear of dying in the one place he felt safe.

The walkway clanged as it reached the platform on which the team stood. And one by one they walked across until everyone of them was on the other side. Seeing that everybody was across, Kaldur let go and swam out of the passage and up to the surface. He broke through the water surface and took in large gulps of air. He turned around and sure enough found that both doors were closed.

The water flowing into the room increased and in a matter of seconds, the room was fully submerged. Kaldur felt all the oxygen in his lungs get used up and in a last effort to save himself, he took in the water through his gills. The water passed over his gills but there was no oxygen for him to extract. He started to panic and thrashed around fear clouding his mind. He was an Atlantean, Atlantean's don't drown and the feeling of him dying in such a manner scared him. He thrashed around for a few more seconds before his body went limp and he was engulfed in darkness.

* * *

"I'm sorry Arthur." Superman said as he put his hand on the Atlantean's shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"I just got him back." Aquaman said his voice thick with emotion. His eyes flashed to the button on the other side of the room and Batman stepped in front of it. "Don't worry Bruce, I won't press it. Kaldur'ahm died a noble death. I will not tarnish his sacrifice by betraying his decision." With those words, he shrugged away from Superman and went to sit on the floor next to the Flash.

"We should have pushed the button." Flash said quietly.

"You and I both know that we couldn't and if we did, we would never be able to live with ourselves."

The Flash remained quiet. Despite wishing that he had made the decision earlier on, he knew that he would never do it. He just hopped that the rest of them would make it out alive.

"Are you sure about this Bruce?" Superman asked.

"Yes Clark. We have to respect their decision and if that means using force against the league, then so be it."

**A/N******

Hey guys, this story is gonna deviate from the vents of yj invasion but I hope you'll enjoy it none the less. I know It's been l0ong but I hope my readers are still there. If you have any comments or questions just review, I enjoy feedback.


	5. Chapter 5

**ICARUS**

Two of them were gone. Wally and Kaldur were gone and the rest of them would probably not make it.

"Dick, we can't do this anymore." Zatanna said leaning against a wall. They were in another corridor, all of them dreading the moment they would walk through the next door. Kaldur had just saved their lives moments ago sacrificing himself in the process.

"We have to Zatanna. You saw the death toll in Tokyo. If those other bombs go off a lot more people are gonna die." Richard replied softly laying a hand on her shoulder.

"And if we go forward we all die." Artemis said. "But, as long as the mission is a success then it's all worth it isn't it."

"You know it isn't like that Artemis."

"Well you could have fooled us or did you forget why you stepped down as leader." Artemis glared at the former leader of the Team.

Richard hung his head as he remembered what had happened between them. "You know I only did that to protect all of you."

"No, you kept secrets from us. You convinced Wally to lie for you and because of your secret M'gann nearly destroyed Kaldur's mind." Conner said looking at the Martian as tears streaked down her cheeks.

"It was the only way to preserve Artemis' cover and ensure that we knew what the Light was planning." Dick said his voice rising.

Conner was about to reply when Raquel spoke up, "Enough! Wally just died. Kaldur just died." She wiped the tears from her eyes before she continued. "One of us could be next. Do you really want to spend the last moments we have arguing? Haven't we argued enough?" The team remained silent and without another word, she turned and left. The remaining members of the team hesitated only for a second before they followed after her.

They reached another metal door and Raquel opened it stepping inside with her head held high. If she was going to die then at least she would die a hero.

Once they had stepped into the dark room, the door slammed shut and bright lights came on. They were standing on a platform that lined the edge of another circular room that was about 300 meters deep. At the top of the room there was another button. There was a hollow on the wall and inside was a single piece of equipment; Rocket's inertia belt. The surveillance system was the same as with the previous room and on the opposite side of the room was a metallic door and above the door was a TV monitor. Above the monitor, the countdown showed them that they had less than nine minutes to their thirty minute deadline. The screen crackled to life and the masked face of their tormentor appeared on the screen. "Congratulations on making it to the first master switch within the time limit. I know the journey was not an easy one."

"Just tell us what you want us to do." Raquel said impatiently. She knew that this challenge was meant for her, the inertia belt was proof of that.

"As you may have deduced, this challenge is yours Raquel. At the top of this room, there is a red button. You will use your inertia belt to reach it, however as you may have noticed from the other challenges that there is a lethal side effect. Once you press the button, it will activate a dampening field that will negate your belts abilities, which means that if you press that button, you will fall to you death."

Raquel hid her shock as she looked at the masked figure, "You know what I still don't get? You say that you want us to learn something. What did Kaldur's death teach him? Why did he and Wally have to die?"

"You see Raquel, it is only as we are about to die that we make the most important discoveries about ourselves. We discover our biggest fears and our deepest regrets, our greatest triumphs and above all our purpose in life. We also learn something about that which kills us. In the case of Kaldur, being an Atlantean granted him certain privileges. Due to his biology, he didn't need to fear water because it was his home. He needed to learn that just as water gives life, it can also take it. That if you don't fear and respect it, it will destroy you whether you are human or Atlantean. He needed to learn that there are some things you just can't control."

"But Kaldur was an Atlantean, he already knew that." Zatanna said.

"Believe me, there would have come a time where he would have made a simple mistake, a mistake that would have cost the lives of billions. He would have made a choice, a small choice really, a choice about water that would devastate an entire planet. He needed to be reminded so that he would not forget."

"What about Wally?" M'gann asked quietly.

"Wallace is a very unique individual. Despite what happened between you, he still saw you as his second family. Wallace didn't have much to learn but his death was supposed to educate someone else." Nero answered.

"What does that mean?" Artemis asked angrily.

"In time you will understand." The masked figured answered. "Now Raquel, time is running out. Press the button and deactivate the bombs or stay put and wait till the timer reaches zero and walk out of here alive. Make your choice." The figure disappeared and the screen went black, the timer ticking away.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted." Raquel said nonchalantly. She walked up to the belt and put it on. "Make sure you get this guy for me."

Raquel was about to activate the belt when she was crushed into a hug by M'gann, Artemis and Zatanna. She held onto her friends tightly taking some comfort in their embrace and their murmured words of goodbye. Eventually the girls let go and Conner took their place. Raquel let go and gave the clone a small smile. She turned to Richard and the two looked at each other for a few seconds before Dick spoke. "Goodbye Rocket." He said his eyes watery. She nodded and he turned away from them and walked towards the other door. He knew there was no escaping what was about to happen. The memory had plagued him for years and now history would repeat itself.

Raquel watched him walk away before she activated her belt and took to the air. She glanced at the timer and saw that she had less than two minutes to press the button and she took a final glance at the team or to be more specific her former team. She remembered how excited she had been when Icon gave her the belt, when she was allowed to join the team and be a hero. She remembered how close they had become and how in the space of a few months their relationship had broken apart. How had they let things get so bad between them? After realizing that Artemis was alive and Kaldur was not a traitor things had turned for the worst and what she regretted most was that she had doubted herself. That she had doubted her friends and her purpose. She had doubted her abilities as a hero and had almost given up the mantle of Rocket.

Maybe Nero was right after all, it was when she was faced with death that she discovered her deepest fear and regret. But she didn't doubt anymore, she was born to be a hero and she would die as one. With a final wave at her friends and with a few seconds remaining, Rocket slammed her hand on the button and closed her eyes as gravity took control and she plunged to the ground.

A/N

New chap for you hope you enjoy it. I replaced the last chapter so check it out if you haven't.


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